Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

Outside the window, the night wind whistled and the shadows of the trees swayed, as if countless pairs of eyes were hidden, peeping at this dilapidated courtyard. With the arrival of the anonymous letter, Wu Tao's heart once again fell into endless darkness and fear...

Wu Tao received this letter shortly after Hu Bugui was demoted. There was no signature on the letter, only that the imperial concubine and the prince had colluded to frame the loyal and good, and that she and Hu Bugui were the victims of their conspiracy. At the end of the letter, the time and place of the meeting were also attached, and the signature was a strange symbol, like a blooming pomegranate.

Wu Tao thought about it again and again. The content of the letter was too bizarre and she dared not believe it easily. However, what the letter said was too consistent with Hu Bugui's demotion, so she could not help but believe it. This made her in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

A few days later, Wu Tao followed the instructions in the letter and came to a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city. She waited anxiously, not knowing who the mysterious messenger was and why he wanted to help her.

"Is the girl Miss Wu Tao?"

Just as Wu Tao was lost in her thoughts, a deep voice sounded behind her. She turned around suddenly and saw a man with an exotic face, dressed in gorgeous clothes, looking at her with a smile.

"Who are you?" Wu Tao asked vigilantly.

"I am Ahmai, the envoy from the Western Regions. I have come here to deliver something to you, young lady, at the request of an old friend." After saying this, Ahmai took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Wu Tao.

Wu Tao took the letter in confusion, opened it, and immediately turned pale. This letter turned out to be a secret letter from the imperial concubine to the prince! In the letter, the imperial concubine revealed her plan to frame her and Hu Bugui, and the words were full of malice and calculation.

"This..." Wu Tao was so shocked that he was speechless.

"Young lady, there is no need to panic. When my old friend learned about this, he felt very upset and ordered me to pass this letter to Your Majesty to prove the innocence of you and Mr. Hu." Ahma explained.

Wu Tao then realized that someone was secretly helping her and Hu Bugui. But who was this old friend?

"Excuse me, Your Excellency, who is your old friend..." Wu Tao asked anxiously.

"This is a long story, so you better wait for good news." Ahma smiled meaningfully, "I'll take my leave."

After Ahma left, Wu Tao's heart was in turmoil. She tightly grasped the letter in her hand, feeling extremely heavy. This letter not only related to her and Hu Bugui's fate, but also to the safety of the court.

A few days later, the emperor received a secret letter from Ahma and was furious...

 Rain falls on my heart lake, tears stain the moonlight

The emperor was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the matter. Accompanied by the Western Regions envoy Ahma, Wu Tao nervously stepped into the magnificent palace.

This was her first time to step into such a place, with carved beams and painted buildings, majestic and solemn, and an invisible pressure made her almost breathless. Kneeling on the cold golden brick floor, Wu Tao felt cold all over, but she knew that this was her only chance. For herself and Hu Bugui, she must stand up bravely.

"You daring girl, do you know that deceiving the emperor is a crime that will result in the death of all nine generations of your clan?" The prince took the lead in attacking, trying to overwhelm Wu Tao's psychological defenses with his authority. His face was livid, and his eyes were full of viciousness, like a beast that was forced into a desperate situation, ready to pounce on her and tear her to pieces at any time.

Wu Tao took a deep breath, trying to suppress her inner fear, and raised the letter in her hand high: "I, Wu Tao, accuse the Imperial Concubine and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of colluding with each other, framing loyal officials and harming innocent people! This letter is the best evidence!"

Seeing this, the imperial concubine pretended to be calm and chuckled, "You want to slander me and the prince with a letter of unknown origin? It's ridiculous! Come, drag this daring slave away and give her fifty strokes of the cane!"

"Wait!" Ahmai stepped forward, stood in front of Wu Tao, and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "This letter was handed to your majesty by a foreign minister. There is also a unique seal of our Western Region royal family on the envelope. How can it be said that it is of unknown origin? Your Majesty is so eager to deny it. Is there something wrong?"

The imperial concubine's face froze, her eyes flickered, but she still argued, "This letter is fake. Someone must have deliberately framed me and the prince! Your Majesty, please understand!"

"Whether it is a frame-up or not, you will know after reading the contents of the letter." Wu Tao spoke calmly and recounted the story in the letter about how the imperial concubine and the prince conspired to frame her and Hu Bugui. She did not add any exaggeration, but every word was heart-wrenching.

As Wu Tao continued to tell the story, the faces of the imperial concubine and the prince became more and more ugly. The content of the letter was too detailed, even some details that only they knew were written clearly, and they could not deny it at all.

"You... you are slandering me!" The prince pointed at Wu Tao in a rage, but could not utter a complete sentence. He never thought that everything he had carefully planned would be exposed so easily.

"Your Majesty, everything I said is true. I hope Your Majesty will look into this matter carefully and give me and Lord Hu justice!" After Wu Tao finished speaking, she kowtowed heavily again, and her forehead collided with the cold gold brick, making a dull sound.

In the hall, there was a silence so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone's eyes were focused on the emperor, waiting for his final decision. The emperor had a gloomy face, and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry, but his clenched fists showed the anger and disappointment deep in his heart...

The atmosphere in the hall was so solemn that it seemed frozen. The emperor's deep gaze moved back and forth between Wu Tao, the crown prince, and the imperial concubine. No one could see what he was thinking at the moment. Finally, he sighed deeply, and his majestic voice echoed in the hall: "Come here, the crown prince formed a clique for personal gain and attempted to murder loyal officials. He is confined to the East Palace and cannot go out without an imperial edict! The imperial concubine has a bad parenting style and is vicious. She is confined to Fengyi Palace and cannot take a single step out without an imperial edict!"

This decree was like thunder in the hall. The imperial concubine widened her eyes in disbelief and screamed, "Your Majesty! You can't do this to me! I am your imperial concubine! I am the mother of the prince!"

However, the emperor did not look at her again, but waved his hand tiredly, signaling the guards to take them away. The prince looked ashen, knowing that everything he had worked so hard for was gone at this moment. He looked at Wu Tao with resentment, his eyes full of deep hatred, as if he wanted to eat her alive.

Wu Tao met the prince's gaze, without any fear in her heart, only deep sorrow. She knew that there was no real winner in this struggle.

After the emperor announced the end of the court session, Wu Tao slowly stood up, feeling her legs as heavy as if they were filled with lead. Ahma walked up to her and whispered, "Miss Wu, you performed very well today."

Wu Tao forced a smile and said, "I'm just telling the truth."

"But not everyone has the courage to tell the truth, and not everyone can be as smart and brave as you." Ahma looked at Wu Tao with admiration in his eyes, "You are a woman worthy of respect."

Wu Tao shook her head gently, without saying anything, and followed the crowd out of the hall silently. The sun shone on her, but it could not dispel the haze in her heart. She knew that things were not over yet, Hu Bugui had not come back yet, and she had to continue waiting for him to return safely.

When they walked out of the palace, the people spontaneously made way for Wu Tao, and they looked at her with admiration and gratitude. What Wu Tao did won their respect and also gave them hope for justice.

"Miss Wu, don't worry. Lord Hu is a lucky man and will be fine!" An old man walked tremblingly to Wu Tao and comforted her.

Wu Tao nodded to him gratefully, but her eyes couldn't help but well up. She knew that everyone believed Hu Bugui was innocent, but only she knew what was waiting for him.

Back at the Hu residence, Chuntao had already burst into tears. Seeing Wu Tao return safely, she threw herself into Wu Tao's arms and said with a sob, "Miss, you are finally back! I am so glad that you are okay!"

Wu Tao gently patted Chun Tao's back and comforted her softly, "I'm fine, don't worry."

However, her heart was filled with anxiety and worry. Although the emperor did not punish Hu Bugui, he did not order his release either, which meant that Hu Bugui's fate was still in the hands of the emperor and was full of unknowns.

As night fell, Wu Tao sat alone in the courtyard, looking up at the bright moon in the night sky, her heart filled with longing and worry. Hu Bugui, where are you now? Are you also looking at the same bright moon?

Unconsciously, tears had blurred her eyes, and drops fell on the cold stone table, as if telling of her endless thoughts and worries...

Tears fell silently, like broken pearls in the moonlight, reflecting the surging thoughts in Wu Tao's heart. Suddenly, the gate was gently pushed open, and a familiar figure appeared in the moonlight.

"Tao'er..." The low voice trembled a little. Wu Tao looked up suddenly. Through her tearful eyes, the face she had been thinking about day and night was so clear.

"Bugui!" Wu Tao ran over and threw herself into Hu Bugui's arms. All her grievances, worries, and longings burst out in tears at this moment. Hu Bugui hugged her tightly, feeling her warmth, his heart full of gratitude and pity.

"I'm sorry, I'm late and made you feel wronged." Hu Bugui gently stroked Wu Tao's hair, his voice hoarse.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back..." Wu Tao kept repeating this sentence in his arms, as if she wanted to vent all the worries and fears of the past few months.

Chuntao ran out of the house when she heard the noise. Seeing this scene, she burst into tears of joy. She quickly wiped her tears and turned back to the house to prepare hot water and food.

The two of them embraced each other quietly in the courtyard for a long time, and then Hu Bugui said, "This time, thanks to the Western Regions envoy Ahmai, it was he who reported the truth to the emperor, and I was able to clear my name."

"Achmai?" Wu Tao raised his head, his eyes full of gratitude, "I must thank him very much."

A few days later, Wu Tao specially hosted a banquet for Ahmai. During the banquet, Wu Tao expressed his gratitude to him and said, "Sir Ahmai, this time you cleared the grievances for Bugui and me. We will never forget this kindness. I hope to teach you some skills from my hometown, hoping to promote exchanges between the Tang Dynasty and your country."

When Ahmai heard that Wu Tao wanted to teach him skills, he immediately became interested and readily agreed.

In the following days, Wu Tao began to teach Ahmai some simple physics and chemistry knowledge, as well as the principles of papermaking and printing. Ahmai was very intelligent and quickly mastered the knowledge, and was amazed at Wu Tao's talent.

Just when everything seemed to have settled down and life was about to get back on track, a fast horse galloped over, breaking the tranquility. The soldier delivering the letter looked panicked, holding high in his hand a letter with a red seal - it was an urgent war report from the frontier.

Hu Bugui took the letter, unfolded it, and his face instantly became solemn. He suddenly looked up at Wu Tao, his eyes full of worry and uneasiness. The border is in danger, and a bigger storm is coming... The red candles flickered, reflecting the delicacies on the table, but no one picked up their chopsticks. Wu Tao felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his heart, making him feel suffocated. The battle report in Hu Bugui's hand seemed to carry a huge force, which made his originally relaxed brows frown again.

"The border is in danger, are the Turks invading?" Wu Tao's voice trembled slightly, his eyes full of worry.

Hu Bugui put down the battle report, looked at Wu Tao with deep eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, the Turkic Khan led an army of 100,000 to the border, and the situation is critical."

"One hundred thousand troops..." Chun Tao heard the words, and the teacup in her hand fell to the ground with a "smack" sound, breaking into pieces. She was unaware of it, her face turned pale, and she muttered to herself, "How could this happen..."

The atmosphere in the room instantly dropped to freezing point, and an invisible pressure enveloped everyone's heart. Wu Tao held Hu Bugui's hand tightly, feeling the coldness of his palm, and her heart was filled with uneasiness.

"Does the emperor have any orders?" Wu Tao asked softly, trying to remain calm.

"The emperor has issued an order, ordering the prince to lead troops to resist the Turks." There was a hint of heaviness in Hu Bugui's tone.

"Crown Prince?" Wu Tao's heart sank suddenly. The prince's feminine face appeared in his mind, and he had an ominous premonition. "The crown prince has never led troops in battle. How can he take on such an important task?"

Hu Bugui remained silent, but held Wu Tao's hand even tighter. He knew that Wu Tao's worries were not unreasonable. The prince was weak and had no opinion. The chances of winning this time were slim.

"Bugui, what about you?" Wu Tao raised his head and looked at Hu Bugui with burning eyes, "Are you going to join the army as well?"

Hu Bugui avoided Wu Tao's gaze and remained silent for a moment before he slowly said, "I have asked the emperor for permission to go to the border to fight against the foreign enemies."

Wu Tao's eyes instantly turned red, but she held back her tears and said nothing. She knew that it was Hu Bugui's responsibility to defend his country, and she couldn't stop him or distract him.

Outside the window, the night is dark. The bright moon is obscured by dark clouds, leaving only a few starlights, flickering, as if foreshadowing the coming of a storm.

At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the door, followed by the voice of a palace servant outside the door: "Sir Hu, the emperor urgently summons you!"